💙 My Story – Part 7 💙
Whilst the coping with pain group was helping me rebuild my confidence, my physiotherapy referral turned into another battle.
I went into my first appointment with a bit of hope.
Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have.
I sat down and explained everything.
What had been found.
The scans.
Pain management.
The injections.
The medication.
The years I’d spent trying to get help.
She barely looked through my notes.
She did a quick examination, gave me a few exercises and told me to come back in six weeks.
Then she told me if I wanted to see her again, it would have to be five weeks.
I remember saying, “No, let’s just stick to six.”
The whole appointment felt like she didn’t care.
Like she didn’t believe a word I was saying.
Even though most of it was already in my records.
What really sticks with me is one thing she said.
“We all start getting a bit of back pain as we get older.”
I just sat there thinking…
Are you actually taking the piss?
At the time I was in my twenties.
I’d spent years fighting to be heard, had scans, referrals, pain management involvement and an MRI showing problems in my lower spine.
This wasn’t me moaning because I’d slept funny.
I left feeling completely deflated.
Thankfully, the second physiotherapist I saw was completely different.
She listened.
She took the time to understand everything that had happened.
And for the first time during that referral, I felt like somebody was actually looking at the bigger picture.
She referred me onto a back rehabilitation programme.
It wasn’t the end of the journey.
But it was another reminder that the right healthcare professional can make all the difference.
Because sometimes the hardest part of living with chronic pain isn’t the pain itself.
It’s constantly having to prove it’s real. 💙
Part 8 coming soon…
